New shipments of the iPad 2 to some Apple stores around the country on Tuesday immediately sold out, raising questions for one analyst about how much inventory Apple will have available for next week's international launch.

Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities checked with stores in New York City and San Francisco on Tuesday, and found that a few stores received additional shipments of the iPad 2. All of those that had a delivery sold out this morning, or will sell out over the next couple of hours, he said.

Not all Apple stores received iPad 2 shipments this morning, and those that did receive new units to sell saw much smaller quantities than last Friday's launch.

A number of stores opened an hour early on Tuesday in anticipation of having a new supply of iPads. However, some customers around the country lined up at stores that did in fact open an hour early, but without any of the iPad 2 in stock.

"The lines to buy the iPad 2 in New York City and San Francisco were again quite a spectacle this morning, a trend we believe will occur throughout the week," White wrote in a note to investors. "In New York City, three of the four stores already sold out of the iPad 2 in the first couple of hours this morning, and tickets were handed out at the flagship store to help people avoid waiting in line unnecessarily.

"Additionally, the flagship San Francisco store opened an hour early and was also handing out tickets to a line of well over 400 people. Those at the end of this line were told the likelihood of getting an iPad 2 this morning were slim."

White said that just one of three stores in San Francisco received new shipments Tuesday morning.

Given the limited availability and strong demand for the iPad 2 in the U.S. alone, White has questioned whether Apple will have enough supply for an international launch scheduled for March 25. The iPad 2 is set to launch in more than two dozen countries next Friday, though the Japanese launch has been delayed due to the recent earthquake disaster.

Last year, Apple was forced to delay the international launch of the first-generation iPad by a month. Demand for the first-generation device was greater than Apple had anticipated, and the company could not fulfill U.S.-only orders.

The iPad 2 is still scheduled to go on sale March 25 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. Apple has said that availability for many more countries around the world will occur in the coming months. Further international availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.

So in general I would guess they shipped between 350-550K on day one with ZERO online orders fufilled. I dont think it is conceivable that they thought this would meet demand. Hence not allowing pre-orders so they could push online orders out a little and attempt to stock up.

I would say its looking pretty grim for the rest of the world in terms of March 25 Shipments.

There was a line here in Austin this AM at the temp downtown Austin store. My wife said that UPS delivered over 100 boxes, each the size of 8 iPads. They didn't sell out yesterday, but expect to today. They only had the 64GB black models and a few white 16GB available.

Its the iPhone4 all over again. A month after the launch you still had to line up at 7 am. Not many manufacturers of anything at all have this 'problem'. Everybody just has to chill and put their purchase back at least a month. Ouch!

give me an effing break. Here we go with perception used to screw with the stock.
Look, ipad 2 is a hit. I held it in my hand today at the Apple store right across the street from my house. It is awesome. But those who want it will get it. Wait!!!!!
Hell, why is it a bummer if you can't get it right right now?

Artificial supply shortage to drive demand - lineups and mass impulse buying expedited.
How do you drive a market to covet your product - tell them it's in limited supply.
This tactic is routine in a lot of business. People want what they can't have.

Nowhere is this practiced more then in the tech industry.
Also a great way to determine and monitor market demand.

Could this be the case here? The timing of the international release is interesting. It's different from their iPhone strategy, but that may be because of carriers.

Artificial supply shortage to drive demand - lineups and mass impulse buying expedited.
How do you drive a market to covet your product - tell them it's in limited supply.
This tactic is routine in a lot of business. People want what they can't have.

Nowhere is this practiced more then in the tech industry.
Also a great way to determine and monitor market demand.

Could this be the case here? The timing of the international release is interesting. It's different from their iPhone strategy, but that may be because of carriers.

With initial reports estimating that some 1 million were sold in its opening weekend, it doesn't seem like Apple is artificially restricting supplies.

give me an effing break. Here we go with perception used to screw with the stock.
Look, ipad 2 is a hit. I held it in my hand today at the Apple store right across the street from my house. It is awesome. But those who want it will get it. Wait!!!!!
Hell, why is it a bummer if you can't get it right right now?

Having to wait is one thing, having people line up for hours to be disappointed is another. No doubt, the iPad is a hit and it will sell millions. I just worry about the Apple brand. My belief (and I know many don't agree) is that in small doses these shortages drive excitement, but if they are too frequent I worry about engendering resentment. People (at least in America) want to root for the underdog but all too often they like to see the big guy brought low.

Artificial supply shortage to drive demand - lineups and mass impulse buying expedited.
How do you drive a market to covet your product - tell them it's in limited supply.
This tactic is routine in a lot of business. People want what they can't have.

Nowhere is this practiced more then in the tech industry.
Also a great way to determine and monitor market demand.

Could this be the case here? The timing of the international release is interesting. It's different from their iPhone strategy, but that may be because of carriers.

Perhaps Xoom, Playbook and Galaxy sales departments should try that, it might help . Apple on the other hand really sells everything they can make. Hard to take for Apple haters I know, my heart goes out to them.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

Artificial supply shortage to drive demand - lineups and mass impulse buying expedited.
How do you drive a market to covet your product - tell them it's in limited supply.
This tactic is routine in a lot of business. People want what they can't have.

Nowhere is this practiced more then in the tech industry.
Also a great way to determine and monitor market demand.

Could this be the case here? The timing of the international release is interesting. It's different from their iPhone strategy, but that may be because of carriers.

You don't really believe this, do you? Maybe Apple paid all those people to line up to create an impression of huge demand? I think you need to put your tin foil hat away and go and try an iPad 2. The demand is driven by its awesomeness. Apple can sell as many as they can produce. The shortage is a byproduct of Apple's success with the iPad. I doubt if the shortage plays into Apple's hands here, though in some cases I am sure you are right. Its a risky strategy, however.

Having to wait is one thing, having people line up for hours to be disappointed is another. No doubt, the iPad is a hit and it will sell millions. I just worry about the Apple brand. My belief (and I know many don't agree) is that in small doses these shortages drive excitement, but if they are too frequent I worry about engendering resentment. People (at least in America) want to root for the underdog but all too often they like to see the big guy brought low.

Apple isn't the little guy anymore!

No other giant in the PC industry has ever dealt with this size of distribution as a single entity. Apple isn't holding back on supplies. Third parties should have the focus be put on them and question the real capacity of those manufacturers.

To be honest, I wouldn't even care if they became slightly smaller. I liked them when they were small and I like them now when they're big. They deserve to be big. Those people who are true Apple users will like Apple no matter how big or small they are. If somebody doesn't understand the true value and benefit of Apple's computers and devices, then it wouldn't bother me if those people jumped ship. Sometimes I think that Apple is too popular and I don't like all of these new Apple users that I see sometimes using Apple products. There will always be enough people around who will stick with Apple regardless.

Having to wait is one thing, having people line up for hours to be disappointed is another. No doubt, the iPad is a hit and it will sell millions. I just worry about the Apple brand. My belief (and I know many don't agree) is that in small doses these shortages drive excitement, but if they are too frequent I worry about engendering resentment. People (at least in America) want to root for the underdog but all too often they like to see the big guy brought low.

Apple isn't the little guy anymore!

So you are suggesting on the one hand Apple wants to be able to post massive sales and on the other hand doesn't want to post massive sales to help massive sales? I wonder how they would actually plan that? Is it done by telling the retailers to secretly say they have run out half way through selling or do they limit the retailers to half of what they guess they are going to sell ... ? I am assuming there is some magic involved in all this

In all seriousness my guess is sales are simply exceeding even the wildest expectations and manufacturing is already flat out making them as fast as they can. All good news to me, I'll take waiting for these reasons any day as a share holder

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

To be honest, I wouldn't even care if they became slightly smaller. I liked them when they were small and I like them now when they're big. They deserve to be big. Those people who are true Apple users will like Apple no matter how big or small they are. If somebody doesn't understand the true value and benefit of Apple's computers and devices, then it wouldn't bother me if those people jumped ship. Sometimes I think that Apple is too popular and I don't like all of these new Apple users that I see sometimes using Apple products. There will always be enough people around who will stick with Apple regardless.

Oh come on, we need to welcome all these new users to the fold. Meanwhile it's time you moved up to a ///

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

New shipments of the iPad 2 to some Apple stores around the country on Tuesday immediately sold out, raising questions for one analyst about how much inventory Apple will have available for next week's international launch.

Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities checked with stores in New York City and San Francisco on Tuesday, and found that a few stores received additional shipments of the iPad 2. All of those that had a delivery sold out this morning, or will sell out over the next couple of hours, he said.

Not all Apple stores received iPad 2 shipments this morning, and those that did receive new units to sell saw much smaller quantities than last Friday's launch.

A number of stores opened an hour early on Tuesday in anticipation of having a new supply of iPads. However, some customers around the country lined up at stores that did in fact open an hour early, but without any of the iPad 2 in stock.

"The lines to buy the iPad 2 in New York City and San Francisco were again quite a spectacle this morning, a trend we believe will occur throughout the week," White wrote in a note to investors. "In New York City, three of the four stores already sold out of the iPad 2 in the first couple of hours this morning, and tickets were handed out at the flagship store to help people avoid waiting in line unnecessarily.

"Additionally, the flagship San Francisco store opened an hour early and was also handing out tickets to a line of well over 400 people. Those at the end of this line were told the likelihood of getting an iPad 2 this morning were slim."

White said that just one of three stores in San Francisco received new shipments Tuesday morning.

Given the limited availability and strong demand for the iPad 2 in the U.S. alone, White has questioned whether Apple will have enough supply for an international launch scheduled for March 25. The iPad 2 is set to launch in more than two dozen countries next Friday, though the Japanese launch has been delayed due to the recent earthquake disaster.

Last year, Apple was forced to delay the international launch of the first-generation iPad by a month. Demand for the first-generation device was greater than Apple had anticipated, and the company could not fulfill U.S.-only orders.

The iPad 2 is still scheduled to go on sale March 25 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. Apple has said that availability for many more countries around the world will occur in the coming months. Further international availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.

Am I the only one who believes this product shortage reflects badly on Tim Cook, the Apple COO?
How many consecutive Apple product launches have involved shortages? That's revenue not collected. Why do they consistently under-produce?

Artificial supply shortage to drive demand - lineups and mass impulse buying expedited.
How do you drive a market to covet your product - tell them it's in limited supply.
This tactic is routine in a lot of business. People want what they can't have.

Nowhere is this practiced more then in the tech industry.
Also a great way to determine and monitor market demand.

Could this be the case here? The timing of the international release is interesting. It's different from their iPhone strategy, but that may be because of carriers.

You are still not convinced that Apple sells everything it makes. You still don't get it. Which of the other tablets are you fronting for? Have them adopt your strategy and see if it works.

I'm not an expert on international logistics or anything but surely the process is a little too advanced to call off now. \

How long do shipments take to clear customs/preparing to ship - 24/48 hours either side (). I'd take a guess and say that there arnt warehouses full of lovely shiny iPAD2 laying around Canada/Europe/Austrialia but i would imagine the process is fairly well "advanced" - IE even if they are not at the end destination they could be packaged up ready to go, theres things like the packaging to take into account for example - the power outlet units are different so its not just case of saying "OK, this is not going to the UK anymore, its going to the US" - they'd have to absorb the cost of waste (not that great but still a cost) in packaging and repackaging the units for a different market.

Moving onto my gusses (), and assuming that Apple were planning on selling just at least as many units this year as they did last year (15,000,000 wansnt it?), then they are making them at a rate of about 41,000 per day. If the reports of around the 7th December were true (about apple telling FoxConn that they were planning on launching in about 100 days - that kind of fits), and Foxconn were since then to make about 20,000 a day then there be a bit of a stock supply. Since friday about 200,000 could well have been assemlied. All of that makes assumptions rather than being based on fact, but still give an indication.

I generally think that its a logistical problem of getting to where they need to be rather than there not being enouth

So you are suggesting on the one hand Apple wants to be able to post massive sales and on the other hand doesn't want to post massive sales to help massive sales? I wonder how they would actually plan that? Is it done by telling the retailers to secretly say they have run out half way through selling or do they limit the retailers to half of what they guess they are going to sell ... ? I am assuming there is some magic involved in all this

In all seriousness my guess is sales are simply exceeding even the wildest expectations and manufacturing is already flat out making them as fast as they can. All good news to me, I'll take waiting for these reasons any day as a share holder

I'm not one of those saying Apple is restricting supply intentionally. I am sure they want to sell tons and, of course they will. Also, I have sympathy for the (ridiculously enviable) problem of massive initial demand for so many of their products these days. There really is no company that I can think of who has ever had to navigate this kind of situation so often!

Now, I suspect that there must have been some truth to the stories that there were production issues in the ramp-up. It seems that many here think that things are going like Apple planned except that they were surprised by the insane demand. This I just don't buy. Sure, with the original iPad gauging demand before release was a crapshoot--but now?

I think it's funny that people get defensive (not necessarily the poster quoted above) over any suggestion that this hasn't gone as well as possible...

Are you thinking about the Apple /// ? If so, then I've never actually used one of those.

I didn't own an Apple ][ either, as I was way too young at the time and it would have been a tad expensive on my $5 a week allowance. I did have one in school though, and I used it as often as I could.

New shipments of the iPad 2 to some Apple stores around the country on Tuesday immediately sold out, raising questions for one analyst about how much inventory Apple will have available for next week's international launch...

I'm not saying that Apple might indeed be screwing things up on the supply front, but this is a completely unwarranted conclusion based on the evidence available. Either this guy is a complete idiot, or he's just purposely winding everyone up. I'm guessing the later.

It's pretty standard practice for instance to have a pre-made supply based on what you *think* will be the initial demand and then ramp up production (or ramp down in some cases) to match the curve. All that we know so far is that Apple (along with all the analysts and pretty much everyone else), misjudged the initial demand.

Since literally only a few days later, there is simply no way to know if Apple is having problems at all. They are obviously going to feed back the demand they are seeing into their system and ramp up production. It's only if they fail to do so, (and we won't know for a week or two at least), that we should get worried at all.

On top of that, if apple doesn't have separate supplies for the International launches (again, standard practice), I would be shocked. If they have real problems, they can "borrow" from places that don't need so much supply and give to those that do, but in the case of the iPad, there won't actually be anywhere that "doesn't want it." If they were to seriously take away supplies from the International launch just to provide the US market they would be cutting their own throats in the markets they most want to grow.

None of his ideas make any sense at all unless you assume the guy is just lying to wind everyone up for other (stock related) purposes.

Are you thinking about the Apple /// ? If so, then I've never actually used one of those.

I didn't own an Apple ][ either, as I was way too young at the time and it would have been a tad expensive on my $5 a week allowance. I did have one in school though, and I used it as often as I could.

Yes I mean an Apple /// ... but only joshing. Great handle by the way. At least you got to touch an Apple ][ in the day so you're allowed.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

They would be useless to us since the software would have speciality behaviours and the hardware built with aluminium cases, colour screens and a home button in the centre.

I had to read this several times to get the joke (I knew there had to be one). Hailing from England originally, I simply didn't see the spelling! I am truly dual lingual now, I can't spell in either US or Brit English equally!

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

At least Motorola got one thing right in their commercial - there would be an ocean of Apple customers vastly outnumbering Xoom customers.

Apple needs to have a commercial pitting benchmarks of the iPad2 against the Xoom,

It could go, "Benchmarking the iPad2 against the Motorola Xoom? Yup, there's an app for that." Rotating iPad with nice graph showing the iPad 2 more than double the graphics performance of the Xoom.

I'm really so sick of the futuristic Verizon commercials showing your smart phone or tablet turning you into something out of Minority Report. Talk about hyping your product, they are the worst. Reminds me of the old DSL commercials showing people surfing at what would be a 128K connection & it looks like they're on 4Gig fiber or something. Whatever happened to nailing companies for false advertising?